Chapter 75
The Lin Mansion is a five-courtyard house with a lotus pond in the backyard. The water is drawn from the Qingque Canal in the palace. The lotus pond leads to a winding river with willow trees planted on both sides. Because Prime Minister Lin likes willow trees, the willow garden at the end of the gurgling river is Lin's exclusive place for a rest.
Normally, no one lives here, except for a few days occasionally throughout the year.
This place is not far from the back house and is quite quiet. Everyone in the Lin family, including the women and children, knows that unless there is something important, they should not go there to play.
This morning, Prime Minister Lin returned to the Lin family, which naturally caused some worries in the backyard. Prime Minister Lin's first wife died early, and now his second wife is in charge of the household affairs. Cao is fifteen years younger than Prime Minister Lin and is now in her fifties. The couple can be said to respect each other.
Cao learned that the master had returned home and was sent back by the Jinwu Guards, saying that he had fainted and was followed by the imperial physician. Cao became anxious and sent her mother to the front yard.
The Lin family has strict rules and regulations, and women from the back house are not allowed to enter the front yard.
In fact, the Lin Mansion didn't have such strict rules before, and no one knew when it started to change. When Cao was young and had just married in, her life was quite easy during those years. Her father-in-law died early, her mother-in-law was kind and gentle, the Lin family was a scholarly family, and her husband was handsome and dignified, but also tender and affectionate.
After a while, my mother came back to report the news: "The front courtyard is under strict control in the study far away. I heard from the chief steward that there is no serious problem. The imperial physician is taking care of him. Madam, don't worry. Also, the younger generation in the mansion don't need to visit. The master wants to be quiet."
Cao nodded when she heard this and stopped moving, only letting her mother check on the situation from time to time.
"What's going on? The master didn't tell me." Cao knew it was a waste of time after asking.
The master never told her about the court affairs, so he naturally wouldn't tell an old woman beside her. Cao said, "Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow."
The master didn't move back to the backyard because he was probably worried about the affairs of the court. It would be more convenient for him to live in the front.
As expected of Cao, who had been my bedmate for thirty or forty years, she actually guessed it right, but she was only half right.
Prime Minister Lin pretended to be sick and fainted because he was angry for a moment. Naturally, he had his considerations. But no matter what happened yesterday, the cabinet did not embarrass the prince too much. They protected him on the surface and left everything to the prince to handle. As a result, today the prince moved those people from the East Palace out and sat opposite the cabinet.
Prime Minister Lin lived his entire life, and he had been standing in the front position of the court since Taizu was in power. At that time, the Hanlin Academy had just been established in the court, and he was admitted with the first-class quota. After three years of Hanlin Academy, he was admitted to the cabinet with his brilliant articles and was praised by Taizu many times.
At the age of forty, he was named Prime Minister, with unlimited glory and grand ambitions.
And now in his twilight years, Prime Minister Lin was still not blind. He could see that the emperor was dissatisfied with him in several aspects. However, he had devoted his entire life to Dasheng, and today he was controlled by a kid. How could those low-class people in the Eastern Palace touch the memorials from the cabinet?
He was asked to see me off in person. If he saw me off today, how would he gain a foothold in the cabinet and the court in the future?
It was just some words yesterday that belittled the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was so young and full of vigor—
Prime Minister Lin was lying on the bed, looking sick, but what he was thinking in his heart was: there will always be a prince who will come to him for help, and even if he is not the prince, he will be the chief steward of the Eastern Palace.
Anyone can come.
It was dark when they waited, and Prime Minister Lin asked the butler twice, "Is there anyone outside the door?" and "If Wang Yuanyuan comes, let him wait in the hall for a cup of tea."
The result was no one.
Until the steward came to report: "Master, Lord Ning and Lord Fang are here, what do you think?"
"Let them in." Prime Minister Lin sat up, and a maid came forward to help the master dress and wash.
After Prime Minister Lin had packed up and went to the living room, Ning and Fang were still in their official uniforms, obviously having just come out of the palace after work. The two were Prime Minister Lin's disciples and had a close relationship with them. They greeted each other first and then spoke directly if they had anything to say without the Prime Minister asking.
The two of them told the prince about what he said and did after the Prime Minister left today.
Then the Prime Minister's face looked gloomy.
Lord Fang spoke earnestly and his face was moved. He said, "Teacher, I didn't expect that the emperor left the imperial seal for your Highness. Now in the cabinet, even if there are some people who are unhappy, they can do nothing about it."
We can't really go against His Highness.
"Hu Gufeng has softened his attitude today. Fortunately, His Highness knows his limits. He discussed politics this morning, but let the cabinet handle it this afternoon." Lord Ning was a little angry. He also knew that the teacher must want to protect the cabinet, but he couldn't say that he was pretending to be sick. He was vague in his words. He first made it clear that he stood on the teacher's side, but he couldn't add fuel to the fire. He said, "Those people in the East Palace are also sensible. They only deal with some unimportant memorials."
After the two of them finished speaking, they bowed and asked the teacher to return to the cabinet.
Lin Shoufu looked at the two of them, and his heart seemed to be blocked by something. He couldn't breathe smoothly. His hands were shaking a little. He put them behind his back. His face relaxed. Finally, he said: "You two go back first and do your job well. I am really old and sick. I'd like to take this opportunity to recuperate and not attract attention."
"Teacher, please don't say that."
"You have devoted yourself to Dasheng for so long, Your Highness is just a little too young and hot-tempered." Lord Fang also had a complicated look on his face, "I didn't expect the emperor to think so highly of Your Highness. It's true, there is only one crown prince in this dynasty."
Now the prince has the upper hand.
But to be honest, the prince did not treat them harshly and gave their cabinet respect and dignity. Just as Lord Ning said, their cabinet was still in full control in the afternoon.
Lord Ning continued, "Teacher, the political meeting ended at noon today, and the prince handed over the power to make the cabinet decision to Zhou Ruwei."
Lin Shoufu's old eyes suddenly showed some sharpness, and then slowly faded away. At that moment, it seemed like an illusion. "What did Zhou Ruwei use to stamp it?"
"The prince's seal." Lord Fang said.
I don't know what Lin Shoufu was thinking this time, and he felt even more depressed. "You guys go first, you don't have to come to see me."
The two saw that the teacher looked unhappy and drove them away for the second time, so they couldn't force them to stay, so they bowed and left. As soon as the two left, Lin Shoufu felt a little dizzy, and then he coughed continuously, as if he wanted to cough out the phlegm in his chest, but he didn't cough it out, but it felt like he was suffocating.
Fortunately, the imperial physician received orders from His Highness to stay in the Lin Mansion to look after the Prime Minister, and thus saved Prime Minister Lin’s life.
That evening, Cao in the backyard heard the master's order to send someone to clean up the Willow Garden. Cao made the arrangements and then murmured, "You were still in the front yard today, why did you suddenly go to the Willow Garden to recuperate so soon?"
No one answered this question.
Zhou Ruwei is in control of the cabinet for the time being, and Hu Gufeng has bowed his head first, not to mention Yan Ning - he is on the prince's side. In fact, it can be seen from the fact that the emperor transferred Yan Ning into the cabinet that the emperor really cultivates and cares for the prince with a loving father's heart.
Looking around, who in the court has only one child? They all have many sons and daughters, both legitimate and illegitimate. Naturally, they cannot understand or imagine how precious His Majesty must be with only one son.
The eight people in the cabinet were all thinking about today when they returned to the mansion after their shift. The fact that the prince held the imperial seal really suppressed some ideas of infighting within the party. Hu Gufeng was such a shrewd and smiling tiger. In the past, he did not take sides or offend anyone. When Zhou Ruwei and Prime Minister Lin were fighting the most fiercely, Hu Gufeng was able to retreat unscathed and even show off in front of the emperor without attracting any attention, jealousy or trouble. Even such an old guy has given up his thoughts.
Hu Gufeng liked drinking and writing, and was good at cursive writing. His writing was most wild and romantic when he was half drunk. It would be difficult to tell from the cursive writing that the owner of this handwriting was a smooth and uninvolved person.
"Haha, good handwriting, burn it."
Hu Gufeng burned the good ones after writing them, but kept the bad ones hanging. Today he wrote very happily, so he asked the servants in the study to burn them, saying, "Your Highness has a bad temper. If you continue to make trouble, Your Highness will execute him first and report later..."
It's not worth it. Your Highness is jade, and they are not stones. But no matter how precious they are, they don't need to be broken into pieces. Your Highness is still here, he is not gone. If your Highness comes back and sees Your Highness acting like this -
Hu Gufeng frowned. He thought that if the prince really beat Lin He with a stick today, the emperor would not say a word about his highness when he came back, but would say a few words on the surface, right? Hu Gufeng was not sure, because he didn't know. If his highness was his son, he would have beaten him up long ago.
How can you have such a bad temper? Have you really never suffered any hardship or anger since you were a child?
The cabinet’s show of force yesterday was not too excessive. Who hasn’t gone through this?
Well, how can they, as officials, compare with Your Highness? If the emperor had a few more children, with Your Highness's temper, they would probably be eaten to the bone.
Taiji Palace, East Palace.
Xuan Xuanfu is having a midnight snack. Today he is having steamed buns and small wontons. Since he has steamed buns, he doesn't order the wontons with big fillings. The clear soup with seaweed and dried shrimps has a vegetarian flavor. The small wontons are only dipped in meat paste. The wonton skin is as thin as a cicada's wing, and it feels like drinking.
"Your Highness." Wang Yuanyuan came in.
Xuanyifu opened his mouth and stuffed the steamed buns with it, then turned to look at Banban, wondering what was going on.
"News from the East Factory: Today, Lin He——"
"Hmm?" Who? "Oh, Prime Minister Lin." Xuanyu chewed and swallowed, took a sip of wonton soup to wash down the food, and motioned Wang Banban to continue.
Wang Yuanyuan: "Lin He stayed in the front yard after returning from the palace. In the evening, Ning and Fang came to visit and chatted for half an incense stick of time. After that, the two left. Lin He fainted and was rescued. After that, he recuperated in the Liu Garden in the mansion." He was afraid that His Highness didn't know about Liu Garden, so he gave him a brief introduction.
"That's good. Liuyuan is quiet and secluded. Prime Minister Lin liked it very much before but didn't have time to live there. Now it's just the right time for him to stay there while he recuperates. Let him live there as long as he wants." Xuanyifu said nonchalantly.
He misunderstood and thought that Prime Minister Lin was on a hunger strike to protest against his treatment of him today, so he got angry too.
As a result, when Duo Xuanfu arrived at work the next day, he arrived early. Wen Lianglu went to him and asked in private, "Your Highness, do you know that Prime Minister Lin is staying in Liuyuan to recuperate?"
Many blessings: ???
No, he thought it was a secret found out by the spies from the Eastern Depot, but it turned out that even Wen Lianglu knew about it. Suddenly, Duo Nuofu felt that Prime Minister Lin's living in Liuyuan was not what he thought - Prime Minister Lin was throwing a tantrum like a child and going on a hunger strike with him.
Definitely not.
What was that? Xuan Duofu didn't understand, so he blinked and looked at Wen Lianglu, asking first: "How did you know? You know everything?"
"Your Highness is smart." Wen Lianglu first flattered him a little and said, "I found out from the Lin family, but if they don't want to reveal it, how can I, a lowly official in the East Palace who has nothing to do with them, know about it?"
"I'm afraid all six ministries will know about it this morning."
Xuan Fu still doesn't understand why, but it doesn't stop him from complaining: "Which courtyard does he live in? His private life is on the headlines and everyone in the court knows about it. Prime Minister Lin is the top star in Dasheng." He looked at Wen Lianglu again, "What does this action mean?"
Xu Muyu didn’t understand either.
"This humble official is just guessing, and the other princes will make the decision."
"You can say whatever you want. It's not a big deal if you say a few things about Prime Minister Lin behind his back. Prime Minister Lin is very magnanimous and would not bother with a minor official like you." Xuan Fu said sarcastically.
Wen Liangru: ...
He said boldly: "Prime Minister Lin's move informed the court that he was recuperating. If there are any mistakes in the government affairs in the court, it is not his fault. It was all decided by Lord Zhou Ruwei."
In fact, the prince was also involved, but Zhou Ruwei was the one taking the blame.
Xuanyun Fu gave him a look of "that's it", paused, and then his expression suddenly became serious. He reacted, "Is Lin He trying to declare war on me?"
Xu Muyu also felt that the situation was serious. "Could it be that the government affairs were ignored just for the sake of party disputes, and we became pawns in their fight?"
"Maybe it hasn't come to this. I'm just guessing." Wen Liangru said, "Maybe Lord Zhou understands better."
Xuanyu Fu nodded and said "hmm".
The atmosphere of the morning government affairs was a little different from yesterday but generally okay. Many people paid more attention to Ning and Fang. They were both in their fifties, which was considered young. The youngest and best-looking ones were Yan Ning and Zhou Ruwei.
After finishing the government affairs, Zhou Ruwei stayed for a while at noon while the others left.
Xuanyu Fu got straight to the point, "Did you know that Lin He entered Liuyuan?"
Zhou Ruwei was shocked. His Highness called Prime Minister Lin by his name. It was inappropriate, but he could tell that His Highness was really angry and that he could only rely on himself. This was his chance, so he stepped forward and said bluntly and tactfully, "Prime Minister Lin did the same thing last time. Your Highness, please rest assured. I can do it."
"..." Xuan Fu's face was serious. "I don't care about your internal struggle with him. You have been in the cabinet for many years, so you must have some tricks. But one thing, don't fight with people's livelihood."
Political parties can freely exchange official titles with each other, but they cannot interfere in matters concerning people’s livelihood.
“If you have done well, you don’t need to tell me, you know it in your heart.” Zhou Ruwei must understand the many words that Fu has not yet said.
Prime Minister Lin is trying to give Zhou Ruwei a victory, but on the other hand, if Zhou Ruwei cannot deal with Prime Minister Lin and cannot sit firmly in the Prime Minister's chair, Xuan Fu will definitely not be so embarrassed as to ask Lin He for help. However, Lin He can "cure the disease" and take the initiative to report to the court.
This time, Prime Minister Lin's position is secure, at least it will not be moved during the period when Fu was the regent - Prime Minister Lin has done nothing wrong, he is a veteran of three dynasties, his family still has the red book and iron certificate awarded by Taizu, he was the chief examiner of the imperial examinations many times, and all the scholars in the world know Prime Minister Lin.
If we want to take action, we must have a legitimate reason and make it clear that Prime Minister Lin is in the wrong.
If Lin was dismissed from his post just because of a 'trivial' matter like the cabinet trying to intimidate the prince, Xuan Duofu:... He is just too lazy to think but he is not brainless or really stupid.
It's better to wait for my father to come back and clean up this mess. When Xuanfu thought of this, he suddenly realized it and looked at Zhou Ruwei suspiciously, "Didn't my father tell you that this would happen before he left?"
Zhou Ruwei was shocked, and said with a resolute look, "Your Highness, rest assured. I will do my best."
"?" What do you know? I'm just asking. Xu Duofu: Forget it. Then Gao Shen nodded, "Master Zhou, you've worked hard. If there's anything you can't handle, you can ask me to help you."
Compared to dealing with an old man who was stubborn and conservative and full of officialdom, he still liked Zhou Ruwei very much. After all, he was Zhou Quan's father, and he was also young and handsome, with delicate features if you looked closely.
But he was suspicious just now, just wondering if his father had expected this.
The answer can only be found when the two fathers come back.
At noon, Xuanyufu and Yan Huaijin had lunch together. Because Li Ang also wanted to give it a try next year, Xuanyufu was reluctant to invite Li Ang over. Eating was secondary, and the main thing was to chat and study the treasure map.
"Fortunately, you don't have to take the imperial examination for the time being." Xuanyunfu sighed with relief at the little face of his deskmate.
Yan Huaijin said, "I'm young, there's no rush." He was obviously not interested in the topic of the imperial examination. "Let's finish eating. Do you have the map?"
"I brought it!" Manyu Fu was surprised. "Did you make any new discoveries?"
Yan Huaijin nodded.
Xu Duofu ate at the speed of a pig. The two of them finished their meal quickly. Xu Duofu hurriedly took his deskmate's hand and went to the warm room. As they walked, he asked, "Are you still carrying your schoolbag today?"
"Yes." Yan Huaijin: "I brought books."
Manyu Fu: "What book?"
The two of them entered the warm room and walked towards the soft couch skillfully. There was a small table between them. Xuanyufu went to look for the treasure map, and Yan Huaijin took out the book he brought. The two of them placed the things on the small table at the same time.
Zhao Erxi came in and brought some snacks. His Highness was used to having a few snacks after his meals, so the snacks were small so that His Highness could try a variety of flavors.
"What book should I read?" Xuan Duofu took the book and read it, but he couldn't understand the patterns in the book. He looked at the cover of the book, "Yan's Geomancy Notes", and suddenly said: "???"
Yan Huaijin understood the question of Fu and explained, "I have said before that my father has been asking questions for many years and he also studied and read for a period of time. Fortunately, he brought the handwritten copy from Shangshengdu in his bookcase."
"I know what this is, but can feng shui and treasure maps be used to tell fortunes?" Xuan Fu's suspicious look was clear.
The two have known each other since childhood and have known each other for many years. They know each other's temperament very well and never say empty words. They are always straightforward and honest. Even now that Xuan Fu is doubting the geomancy of Yan Huaijin's father, he doesn't think there is anything wrong with questioning it in front of the other person's son.
Yan Huaijin knew that Xuanyufu didn't like this, so he turned the page and said to Xuanyufu, "My father wrote in his notes that the ground is like a chessboard with crisscross lines—"
Many people were skeptical at first, but after hearing this, they suddenly became excited. Could it be that they were talking about longitude and latitude?
"You continue." He now corrected his attitude and sat up straight as a primary school student.
Yan Huaijin: "There are also the corresponding positions of the stars in the sky, which can all be used for hexagram exploration." He pointed to the map and said, "You see, the map is very simple. The specific locations of mountains, rivers, and trees are not even marked in the east, south, west, and north."
"My father said that mountains and rivers will change over time, rivers will dry up, the earth will shake and mountains will split apart, but by matching the stars and making hexagrams, we can find out the root of the problem."
Many people listened with great interest, and found it more interesting than the political discussions in the morning.
"Then do you want to tell fortunes? Are you good at fortune-telling?"
Yan Huaijin's expression changed, "I haven't calculated it."
Many blessings: ...
"The fortune teller, who can see into the secrets of heaven, said that my father has little luck with having children. But he also said -"
"What?" Xuanyun Fu asked and then remembered that his father had said that Yan Huaijin would die young and have no offspring. If that was the case, why was he still being so shy? He got angry when he thought about it.
Unexpectedly, Yan Huaijin said: "He said that I am not blessed enough. Let's forget it. Read more books and do more good deeds. A little bit of accumulation will also add up to a lot."
"Uncle Yan is pretty good." He finally said something pleasing to the ear. Xuan Fu looked at the map and said, "Since we can't tell fortunes, how can we read it?"
Yan Huaijin: "The location is determined according to the geomancy stars and the earth lines."
Xuanyun Fu didn't understand but thought it was very impressive. In the end, he asked Zhao Banban to take out the map of Dasheng. The two of them were here - to be precise, Yan Huaijin was alone. They took a piece of white paper and drew "grid" lines here, while he ate snacks next to them.
Many people actually feel that this kind of "old traditional Feng Shui" is a bit mysterious. It's not that they don't believe it, but it's mainly too profound. However, they have nothing to do now, so they might as well give it a try.
After working for a while, Xuanfu felt sleepy. Yan Huaijin raised his head and said, "If you feel sleepy, go to sleep. I will do it myself."
Manyu Fu's voice was slurred with sleepiness: "Aren't you sleepy?"
"Not sleepy."
"Then I'll take a nap. Master Hu will have a one-on-one lesson with me in the afternoon." Xuan Duofu said and fell on the pillow, snoring Zzzz~
Yan Huaijin smiled and lowered his head to continue playing with the grid.
For more than half a month afterwards, Xuan Fu spent his time like this, discussing government affairs in the morning, taking two hours of classes in the afternoon, having lunch at noon, and studying the treasure map with Yan Huaijin in the Xuan Zheng Hall from four to five in the evening.
It is really slow to draw the grids. After that, you have to draw a simplified map with a reduced scale according to the Dasheng map, and then match the map locations with the grids one by one - many people can't understand it at all!
He also complained: If the treasure map was hidden in Qianzhong or Sumakguan, he wouldn't be able to go there.
Therefore, "Yousou" was very studious that day, and asked Master Hu for two hours about the history of the Chu family, Lan family, and Yuwen family of Zhao State. Master Hu did not doubt him, and felt that His Highness was particularly studious today, and he talked endlessly, citing classics -
Manyu Fu would cleverly raise questions and lead to other aspects whenever Hu Taifu talked about the fall of Zhao State and the tyrant ruler.
After listening for an entire afternoon, the final conclusion was: Lan's hometown was in Xihe Road, not far to the west of Shengdu. The area was very fertile and everything grown well in the land. When Taizu was in power, he rewarded people based on their merits and conferred two vassal kings in Xihe.
It can be seen that he is indeed rich.
It only takes seven days to get there by horse from Shengdu. Xuanyunfu thought: Seven days is not a bad time, I am going on a long journey, and Zhou Ruwei will look after the house.
As for the Yuwen family, they are even closer. The present-day Anle County, which was the former fief of Li Ang's grandmother, is the hometown of the Yuwen family. Naturally, the Yuwen family occupies a larger area, and it is all calculated as a "province". Taizu loved the eldest branch and granted the eldest daughter a fief. His granddaughter chose a "county town" in a rich place.
It takes a day and a half to ride there than to Xihe Road.
Not to mention the birthplace of the Chu family, the nobility - Taifu Hu looked at him with an expression of 'anger at their lack of fighting spirit', and Xuanyue suddenly realized, oh oh oh, the Chu family's hometown is Shengdu, which is at his feet.
He told his desk mate about this "discovery", because it was he who suggested looking for the treasure, but the desk mate was the one who did all the work, Xuan Fu was a little embarrassed, so he talked about the "literary" aspect, and Yan Jinjin's making grids to find the position was the "martial" aspect.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself has made such a determination.
Yan Huaijin was stunned for a moment. He knew the ancestral places of the two families. But seeing that Xu Duofu looked like he had made contributions, he smiled and said, "So that's the case." After that, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Xu Duofu, you are so smart. Why didn't I think of this place?"
"If you think of this, you don't need to use the entire Dasheng map to determine the location. It will be much faster to directly determine these three places."
"You are indeed wise but foolish."
Xuanyifu was originally very happy and proud, but when he heard the last sentence, he pretended to be angry: "Well, Yan Jinjin, you little brat, how dare you say that to me behind my back?" He pinched Yan Jinjin's face and rubbed it.
Yan Huaijin knew he was in the wrong and apologized, "I don't really think you're stupid. You've always been very smart in front of me. I just heard what my uncle said and blurted it out in a hurry."
Very good, as expected, the young Yan Huaijin was so anxious that he sold out his uncle.
After Xuanyifu tortured Yan Jinjin, he let go of her hand and said, "Well, I regard Master Yan as my teacher, but Master Yan thinks I'm stupid."
"Great wisdom, great intelligence, and many blessings." Yan Huaijin covered his face with his hands and emphasized many blessings.
Xuan Fu couldn't help but raise his arm, hugged his deskmate and knocked him on the head, "I was just kidding you, I'm not really angry, and I won't go to Master Yan to settle accounts for such a small matter."
"Actually, I know that you have a lot of things in your stomach." Yan Huaijin had a handsome little red face and eyes shining like stars, and he was also joking and teasing.
Because of the age difference, Yan Huaijin was as tall as a child in the past few years. Xuanyifu treated his little deskmate as his younger brother and teased him. They played and fought with each other without any sense of distance and acted very naturally.
Now Xuanfu let go and touched his little classmate's head, "You've been drinking milk for so many years, why haven't you grown any taller? But don't worry, I also started growing like crazy when I was twelve or thirteen."
"I'm twelve." Yan Huaijin said.
"That will be soon." Xu Duofu prayed to God for his little classmate in his heart, blessing little Huaijin to grow up tall - oh no, he had memories, he almost went crazy, and immediately smiled and said with certainty: "This prince said that you will definitely be tall and slender, handsome and beautiful, and have great literary talent in the future."
Yan Huaijin raised the corner of his mouth, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"You're welcome."
On December 25th, Xuanyuefu attended the morning court for the second time since his father went on the expedition - the emperor said twice a month, so Xuanyuefu scheduled the 5th and 25th, once at the beginning of the month and once at the end of the month. The last morning court was uneventful, as his father had just left not long ago, and cabinet chief Lin had gone out to 'recuperate'. The new official made three big moves upon taking office, which made the ministers a little afraid of him, and they all behaved well without causing any major trouble.
The New Year is coming soon. After this morning court session, I can hold the closing ceremony and have the New Year holiday early.
Oh!
hapiness.
The day before the morning court session, Zhou Ruwei, who was about to get off work, suddenly asked to see him.
"Hurry up and let Mr. Zhou in." Xuanyunfu said. For more than half a month, the cabinet had been discussing politics as usual, and there was no "big lawsuit" asking him to be the referee. I guess it was just a fight between Zhou Ruwei and Lin He.
Zhou Ruwei came in, bowed and asked His Highness how he was. Xuan Fu enthusiastically said, "No need to be so polite," and asked why Lord Zhou came.
"Tomorrow morning, the court will ask for memorials and ask the Crown Prince to select the examiner for next year's spring examination."
Xuanyun Fu immediately understood, "You haven't suffered any loss during this period, forcing Prime Minister Lin and his party to find another way out. Do you want to use the chief examiner to invite Lin He out of retirement?"
"Your Highness is intelligent." Zhou Ruwei has become accustomed to the prince's straightforward words.
Xuan Duofu raised his eyebrows and said happily, "Master Zhou is not bad, no wonder the emperor thinks highly of Master Zhou, but - forget it, let's not talk about this."
When Zhou Ruwei heard the word "just", his eyelids jumped. He wanted to find out what His Highness meant, but after thinking it over again and again, he didn't ask. The emperor had been treating him coldly for a while, and he could actually feel it.
"Does Lord Zhou have any recommendations for examiners?"
Zhou Ruwei came back to his senses and said, "My son will be among those who will take the imperial examination next year. I am not suitable to recommend anyone to avoid his relatives."
"I forgot to avoid suspicion. Even so, it is not appropriate for Master Hu to be the chief examiner." After all, Master Hu used to be a teacher in Chongming Hall.
Even Master Yan can’t do it.
Among all the court officials, one must have good academic performance and seniority. The two young tutors newly appointed by his father are not good enough. They have little seniority and must avoid suspicion. With the double buff, the seniority of the Hanlin Academy is not high. Scholars say that the chief examiner in the past was the prime minister, so what is the difference when it comes to them? Uh -
It sounds a bit harsh, but some people just care about "face". This is also due to their official background. It's the difference between a first degree from a 985 university or an ordinary one. The chief examiner must be from a 985 university.
Zhou Ruwei was also a little embarrassed, but he really didn't want to go along with the Lin Party's wishes. Lin He was not in the court, and he had the prince's seal, so he had no disadvantage and had the upper hand. If Lin He came back, the situation would be different.
After all, Lin He had been an official in the court for forty or fifty years.
Xuanyifu racked his brains and even took out the secret book of employing people given to him by his father in front of Zhou Ruwei. He mentioned a few civil servants, but Zhou Ruwei shook his head. Xuanyifu: ...
"Okay, I know. Prime Minister Lin has already taken the position of Prime Minister. Who in the whole court can find someone who can surpass Prime Minister Lin? You can't get in yet. In this case, it's better not to choose qualifications and articles, but family background."
Zhou Ruwei looked at His Highness, "Your Highness wants to personally--"
I'm not going to supervise the exam myself! That would be so tiring! Xuanyuefu said, "Zhao Banban, Prince Xuanli, my fifth uncle."
Zhou Ruwei felt relieved after hearing this. It was a good idea that Your Highness had found another way.
His Royal Highness is of noble blood and Prince Li is highly valued by the Emperor. It would be a bad fate for him to avoid usurping power and becoming too deeply involved in the court - emperors have been wary of this since ancient times.
Your Highness is really not as useless as previously rumored by the outside world.
Really wise and stupid.
The author has something to say:
Your Highness Duozai: No stupidity, just great wisdom.
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